Lamp support



R. W. HAVEN LAMP SUPPORT Oct. 25, 1949.

Filed March 15, 1946 iowcn .Rgw

ATTO R N EY Patented Oct. 25, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAMP SUPPORT Roger W. Haven, Winchester, Mass., assignor to Sylvania Electric Products Inc., Salem, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 15, 1946, Serial No. 654,563

5 Claims. 1

This invention relates to lampholders and. more particularly to lampholders especially adapted for use in conjunction with light sources which are curved in configuration. More specifically, the invention relates to lampholders for circular fluorescent lamps.

An object of the invention is to provide a lampholder which will hold the lamp firmly and securely.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lampholder which will hold the lamp firmly and securely in any of several operating positions.

A further object is to provide a lampholder which will readily permit the lamp with which it is used to be disposed in various operating positions without necessitating an adjustment of the lamp or its holder each time the lamp is caused to assume a difi'erent position.

Another object is to provide a circular lamp installation with a lampholder which will be adequate to serve as the sole and single supporting means for the lamp.

Further objects, advantages and features will be apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a circular lamp provided with the lampholder of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the lampholder with the lamp in section.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the lampholder and lamp assembly with one of the main body members of the lampholder removed and the illustrated body member shown in section for clarity, the section being taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a bottom view of the lampholder and lamp with the main body members shown in a section taken along the line 44 of Figure 2.

With the advent of the circular fluorescent lamp many new problems were encountered which could not readily be solved by the application of standard linear fluorescent lamp methods and practices. For example, the conventional fluorescent lamp bases were not practical because a circular lamp, of its nature, made it more desirable to use a single unitary base to cap both ends of the lamp rather than two separate bases, one for each end. The patent to Thomas, 2,392,785, discloses a lamp base which has proved desirable and ideal for use with circular lamps. Not only does it provide a single unitary base for capping both ends of the circular lamp but it 2 is also characterized by a feature which permits rotation of the lamp about its base, through about 240 degrees.

In standard linear fluorescent lamp practice the lamps are usually supported by two holders, one at each end, the pins projecting from each end of the lamp engaging contact members in a holder. When a single, unitary base is used to cap both ends of a circular lamp, only one holder is desirable or practical at this point. Considerable diiiiculty has been encountered in attempting to develo a lampholder which will adequate- 1y support the entire lamp. Heretofore this problem has been solved by installing a bracket or similar device on a lamp fixture at a point opposite the fixtures electrical outlet. When this method is employed, the lamp is installed by connecting the lamp base to the fixtures electrical outlet and permitting the opposite side of the lamp to rest on this bracket. Thus the lamp is supported at two fixed points.

Although in many cases, this method may prove adequate and even satisfactory, a full exploitation of the widely diversified lamp mounting possibilities made available by the use of a lamp base of the type described in the abovementioned patent to Thomas is not attainable because the second point of support, the bracket, is fixed. Thus it would not be possible to rotate the lamp to a variety of operating positions and still have the lamp supported at two fixed points.

The herein-described lampholder not only obviates the necessity for providing a two-point support for a satisfactory lamp installation but it also permits the full and complete utilization of the features embodied in the Thomas patent. The instant lampholder embodies the idea of supporting the lamp by a friction-type holding means which engages the lamp with pressure sufficient to adequately support it in a variety of positions but not so great that it will cause a binding condition, interfere with the rotation of the lamp, or strain the lamp or the fixture in which it is mounted.

The lampholder I comprises a pair of hollow body members 2 which may be joined to each other by screws 3 or some other type of clamping means. Each body member is provided with a semi-circular recess in the center thereof and a semi-circular recess in the bottom thereof, these recesses defining a circular opening 4 in the center and a circular opening 5 in the bottom of the assembled lampholder. The opening 4 is provided for the extension therethrough of a curved lamp 6 and the opening 5 is provided for the passage therethrough of a conduit 1, through which an electrical connection may be made from a suitable outlet to the lamp 6. a

Each hollow body member 2 is further provided with two channels 8 for the reception therein of a strip of resilient material 9, such as rubber or the like. When the lampholder is attached to the lamp 6, the lamp is held by the holder l through the resilient members 9. The

body members 2 do not grip the lamp but merely encircle it. The lamp is frictionally held by the rubber strips 9.

The lamp 6 is provided with a base which has pins ll projecting therefrom. That end of the conduit 1 which lies within the lampholder I is provided with a socket I2 which is adapted to be engaged by the pins H on the lamp base 10. Thus the lamp 6 is electrically connected to a power source through the pins H projecting from its base It], the socket l2 and suitable wires which may be threaded into the socket l2 through the conduit 1.

The lampholder of this invention may be used with bases other than the type of base described in the above-mentioned patent to Thomas withholders other than the specific type illustrated I in the drawings may readily be designed by those skilled in the art to take advantage of the principles of the friction-type holder herein enunciated without departing from the spirit of the invention. Means other than the conduit I and socket 12 may also be employed to accomplish the electrical connection from a lamp base to a source of electrical power,

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a curved tubular electric lamp with its ends adjacent to and facing one another; a base for said lamp encircling and connecting the adjacent ends thereof; and a holder through which said lamp may be supported, said holder comprising a shell having an opening therein adapted to loosely receive a portion of said lamp and its base and resilient means disposed within said shell for frictionally engaging said lamp.

2. In combination, a curved tubular electric lamp with its ends adjacent to and facing one another; a base for said lamp encircling and connecting the adjacent ends thereof; a holder through which said lamp may be supported, said holder comprising a shell having an opening therein adapted to loosely receive a portion of said lamp and its base and a second opening in said shell at the bottom thereof, and resilient means disposed within said shell for frictionally engaging the lamp; and means for electrically connecting the base of said lamp to a source of electrical energy through the second opening in said shell.

3. In combination, a curved tubular electric lamp with its ends adjacent to and facing one another; a base for said lamp encircling and con- 4 necting the adjacent ends thereof; pin terminals projecting from said base; a holder through which said lamp may be supported, said holder comprising a shell having an opening therein adapted to loosely receive a portion of said lamp and its base, and a second opening in the bottom of said shell, and resilient means disposed within said shell for frictionally engaging said lamp; and means for electrically connecting the pins on the base of the lamp to a source of electrical energy, said means comprising a conduit projecting through the second opening in the bottom of said shell and into the body thereof, and a socket mounted on the end of the conduit enclosed in the shell and into which the pin terminals which project from the lamp base extend.

4. In combination, a curved tubular electric lamp with its ends adjacent to and facing one another; a base for said lamp encircling and connecting the adjacent ends thereof; and a holder through which said lamp may be supported, said holder comprising a pair of hollow body members each of which is provided with a semi-circular recess which when the said body members are assembled define a circular opening adapted to loosely receive a portion of said lamp and its base, and resilient means disposed within said hollow body members for frictionally engaging said lamp.

5. In combination, a curved tubular electric lamp with its ends adjacent to and facing one another; a base for said lamp encircling and connecting the adjacent ends thereof; and a holder through which said lamp may be supported, said holder comprising a pair of hollow body members, each of which is provided with two semicircular recesses which, when the body members are assembled, define two circular openings, the plane of the first opening being transverse to the longitudinal axis of the body members and adapted to loosely receive therein a portion of said lamp and its base, and the plane of the second openings being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body members and providing means through which said base may be connected to a source of electrical energy, and resilient means disposed within said body members and extending into the first mentioned opening for frictionally engaging said lamp.

ROGER W. HAVEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,976,836 Cudney Oct. 16, 1934 2,238,589 Hensler Apr. 15, 1941 2,295,883 Williams Sept. 15, 1942 2,366,252 Geiger Jan. 2, 1945 2,392,785 Thomas Jan. 8, 1946 2,400,381 Young May 14, 1946 2,419,965 Pieper May 6, 1947 

